[Author's Note: This paper is the culmination of a variety of studies into the provision of higher education in Britain, and how it compares to innovations occurring in the rest of the world. While it refers to a truly British residual model of the "Donnish Dominion" (Halsey, 1995), the dominant and emerging models are drawn from an international arena, and the future model presented alludes to a global positioning of universities as they realize their corporate, virtual and global futures. Clearly, this model will have an enormous impact on the role of the academic, and the potential future student who will be studying at such institutions will have different demands, expectations and needs from those of the current student as the role of higher education changes.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]